 "Changing the rules in the legal space")
In 2007, Nikhil Chandra, a lawyer for AZB & Partners, one of India's top law firms, decided to quit his job and follow his passion for law, albeit in a different way. With the zeal to bridge the gap between theory and practice in the sector, Chandra founded Rainmaker Training and Recruitment in 2009.
In 2010, the Mumbai-based start-up developed myLaw.net, an online platform for legal courses. The same year, it received its first major contract-conceptualising and managing the All India Bar Examination.
Today, myLaw.net is a one-stop platform for all kinds of legal knowledge in India for law students, professionals, as well as others interested in the subject. It provides a wide range of courses, across compliance and corporate law and niche segments such as sports law, environmental law and media and civil law.
"MyLaw.net is an addition to regular courses, as it concentrates on areas other than laws that are industry-oriented. Also, these are the best parallel to a regular course at a law school," says Daisy Alexander, principal, Rizvi Law College.
MyLaw.net has also signed up with universities such as Indira Gandhi National Open University and West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences to offer certification and accreditation to students.
Focus
The platform has about 15,000 students across short-term certificate programmes and a long-term accreditation course. It plans to enrol about 100,000 students within two years.
Zacarias Joseph, a student of myLaw.net, who is also pursuing a course on law from Indian Law Society, Pune, says, "MyLaw.net gives you an overall idea of the basics of every subject, which will not be given to you at a law school or a company. This is what makes these courses so different, as these better prepare you for an internship or a job."
"MyLaw.net enhances the art of legal writing and research. Courses are customised according to curricular needs and market demands," says Alexander.
Business model
With professionals and experts on its payroll, the online platform provides credible content and guidance to students. It follows what it calls the LOOC (limited open online course) model, charging a nominal fee for courses.
It also offers courses to companies, as part of their learning management systems. Though Alex doesn't name these companies, he estimates their count will stand at about 40 by the end of the year.
Through the past five years, myLaw.net has been re-investing capital back into its business. It is expected to record break-even by the end of this year. "We are on track with our break-even. We aim to provide our shareholders results in terms of numbers before the end of the year," says Alex.
Funding
Since its inception in 2009, Rainmaker has raised about $3 million (about Rs 16 crore) through three rounds of funding. Angel investors who participated in these rounds included Bahram Vakil, senior partner at AZB & Partners; Sajan Poovayya, founding partner of Poovayya & Co; Pramod Rao, general counsel, Citi India; Till Olbrich, vice-president, Philip Morris International; and Ajay Sarupria, chairman of Intellivision Software.
"Usually, I am a very conservative investor. But I saw and continue to see a winning combination of online learning; the management of myLaw.net inspired me to back the company," says Olbrich. "We are seeing the beginning of a tsunami of education on a completely different scale. In comparison to classroom teaching, online education has a much larger reach."
Challenges
The online law education space in India hasn't been widely explored, which offers a huge opportunity. "High-quality education is far out of reach for those who come from tier-II and tier-III cities. Online education provides a platform through which students can get the same level of education. It has the potential to equalise," says Alex.
The biggest challenge is infrastructure - 3G and 4G connectivity. "There is a huge audience that wants to learn. But scarcity of bandwidth creates a problem, especially for those from small cities and towns. Video content is our USP and without the appropriate bandwidth, it is difficult to reach a large section," says Alex.
Vakil says, "Competition is the immediate challenge; myLaw.net has to consolidate and build walls to beat competition. Marketing and infrastructure in terms of 3G & 4G is the need of the hour."
Echoing the sentiment of investors, Poovayya says, "If approached again, I will definitely invest, as I have full faith in myLaw.net's leadership team and its potential. I will advise it to scale more aggressively, as I believe it is set to scale greater heights."
EXPERT TAKE: Anil Joshi
Rainmaker has identified the right space and entered at the right time. Brick-and-mortar businesses have growth limitations and are capital-intensive, while e-learning offers consistency in delivery and to a much wider audience, at a much lower cost.
The legal sector is wide and it is difficult for one to remember every clause and practical implication. With e-learning, one has access to a wider knowledge base and the flexibility to access it according to convenience.
Rainmaker has the potential to grow much faster, and beyond India. The only aspects it has to concentrate on are quality and updating content regularly.
By tying up with universities, Rainmaker will have a much wider reach and help bring offline students to the online platform.
As the sector is nascent, there is less competition. However, as it matures, competition will increase. Therefore, I feel Rainmaker should spend on content and technology so that consumers keep consuming rich content across platforms such as mobiles and tablets, too.
In 2010, the Mumbai-based start-up developed myLaw.net, an online platform for legal courses. The same year, it received its first major contract-conceptualising and managing the All India Bar Examination.
Today, myLaw.net is a one-stop platform for all kinds of legal knowledge in India for law students, professionals, as well as others interested in the subject. It provides a wide range of courses, across compliance and corporate law and niche segments such as sports law, environmental law and media and civil law.
"MyLaw.net is an addition to regular courses, as it concentrates on areas other than laws that are industry-oriented. Also, these are the best parallel to a regular course at a law school," says Daisy Alexander, principal, Rizvi Law College.
MyLaw.net has also signed up with universities such as Indira Gandhi National Open University and West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences to offer certification and accreditation to students.
Focus
The platform has about 15,000 students across short-term certificate programmes and a long-term accreditation course. It plans to enrol about 100,000 students within two years.
Zacarias Joseph, a student of myLaw.net, who is also pursuing a course on law from Indian Law Society, Pune, says, "MyLaw.net gives you an overall idea of the basics of every subject, which will not be given to you at a law school or a company. This is what makes these courses so different, as these better prepare you for an internship or a job."
"MyLaw.net enhances the art of legal writing and research. Courses are customised according to curricular needs and market demands," says Alexander.
Business model
With professionals and experts on its payroll, the online platform provides credible content and guidance to students. It follows what it calls the LOOC (limited open online course) model, charging a nominal fee for courses.
It also offers courses to companies, as part of their learning management systems. Though Alex doesn't name these companies, he estimates their count will stand at about 40 by the end of the year.
Through the past five years, myLaw.net has been re-investing capital back into its business. It is expected to record break-even by the end of this year. "We are on track with our break-even. We aim to provide our shareholders results in terms of numbers before the end of the year," says Alex.
Funding
Since its inception in 2009, Rainmaker has raised about $3 million (about Rs 16 crore) through three rounds of funding. Angel investors who participated in these rounds included Bahram Vakil, senior partner at AZB & Partners; Sajan Poovayya, founding partner of Poovayya & Co; Pramod Rao, general counsel, Citi India; Till Olbrich, vice-president, Philip Morris International; and Ajay Sarupria, chairman of Intellivision Software.
"Usually, I am a very conservative investor. But I saw and continue to see a winning combination of online learning; the management of myLaw.net inspired me to back the company," says Olbrich. "We are seeing the beginning of a tsunami of education on a completely different scale. In comparison to classroom teaching, online education has a much larger reach."
Challenges
The online law education space in India hasn't been widely explored, which offers a huge opportunity. "High-quality education is far out of reach for those who come from tier-II and tier-III cities. Online education provides a platform through which students can get the same level of education. It has the potential to equalise," says Alex.
The biggest challenge is infrastructure - 3G and 4G connectivity. "There is a huge audience that wants to learn. But scarcity of bandwidth creates a problem, especially for those from small cities and towns. Video content is our USP and without the appropriate bandwidth, it is difficult to reach a large section," says Alex.
Vakil says, "Competition is the immediate challenge; myLaw.net has to consolidate and build walls to beat competition. Marketing and infrastructure in terms of 3G & 4G is the need of the hour."
Echoing the sentiment of investors, Poovayya says, "If approached again, I will definitely invest, as I have full faith in myLaw.net's leadership team and its potential. I will advise it to scale more aggressively, as I believe it is set to scale greater heights."
EXPERT TAKE: Anil Joshi
Rainmaker has identified the right space and entered at the right time. Brick-and-mortar businesses have growth limitations and are capital-intensive, while e-learning offers consistency in delivery and to a much wider audience, at a much lower cost.
The legal sector is wide and it is difficult for one to remember every clause and practical implication. With e-learning, one has access to a wider knowledge base and the flexibility to access it according to convenience.
Rainmaker has the potential to grow much faster, and beyond India. The only aspects it has to concentrate on are quality and updating content regularly.
By tying up with universities, Rainmaker will have a much wider reach and help bring offline students to the online platform.
As the sector is nascent, there is less competition. However, as it matures, competition will increase. Therefore, I feel Rainmaker should spend on content and technology so that consumers keep consuming rich content across platforms such as mobiles and tablets, too.
Anil Joshi is an early-stage investor